Zach Butters of the Kalamazoo College men's swimming & diving team was named the SAAC Men's Hornet of the Week on Tuesday (Oct. 18).
The men's swimming & diving team traveled to compete against Albion in an MIAA dual. The Hornets were narrowly defeated 133-110 by the Britons in Kalamazoo's first dual of the season.
Butters had a busy and successful day at the dual, placing in the top two for three different events. Two were first-place finishes, and he collected big points for the team.
The first event of the day for Butters was the 1000 Free, where he placed second. Seven seconds behind the winner, Butters swam a 10:44.48 as his splits ranged from 27.37 to 33.17. The day's first win came in the 500 Free after swimming a 5:07.71 and finishing five seconds ahead of the next swimmer. Butters then teamed up with Oliver Tye, Ben Pickrel, and Tim Karubas to take the 200 Free Relay by less than a second at 1:30.37.
In his second season, Butters' fastest time in the 1000 Free came last year when he swam a 10:11.89 at the 2021-22 MIAA Championships. At that same meet, he finished at 4:47.37 in the 500 Free for his best time. So far this season, Butters has also competed in the 200 Free and the 200 Free Relay.
The Hornets compete again on Friday (Oct. 21) in the MIAA Relays (hosted by Calvin), beginning at 5 p.m.
2022-23 Men's Hornets of the Week
Zach Butters, Swimming
Ben Pickrel, Swimming
Tyler Omness, Golf
Josh Nichols, Football
Lance Taylor, Football
Bubba Wilson, Football
Ian Burr, Football